“We’ll keep that in mind, officer.” Shelby answered her ringing phone and was glad they had brought along their own gear so they could leave from the federal building to wherever Kyle needed them. “Daniels.”
“She’s headed to the club, so let’s see if she remembers you from the crowd, Daniels.” In his usual manner, Kyle abruptly disconnected from his end.
Shelby unzipped the bag and pulled out a black minidress as her fellow officers just smiled. George finally had the guts to ask, “Where, Shelby, do you hide a gun while wearing that?”
“Trade secrets, George. If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
*
“You know who we’re looking for, right?” Cain stopped at the front door of Emerald’s and talked to the guy in charge of letting people in.
“Yeah, boss. Merrick gave me the heads-up earlier today. Don’t worry if they show up. I’ll make sure they don’t wait in line.”
Cain turned to Merrick and leaned in a little. “Where are they?”
“The trucks are en route still and about three hours away. That gives us enough time to meet with Vinny and finalize the distribution once they arrive. His father’s monitoring the caravan and says we have plenty of company.”
“Good to know I’m still so popular.”
They entered the building and went directly to Cain’s private table.
“Are you sure you don’t want to let me in on what you’re doing?”
“Sweetheart, you worry about my son and keeping him safe. Let me and Vincent worry about everything else.”
Merrick tried to hide her hurt feelings of being cut out of Cain’s inner circle.
“Don’t pout, Merrick. I haven’t lost faith in you. Believe me, that’s not it. Vincent and I are the only ones on the front lines on this deal. I need you to be ready to move with Hayden, if it comes to that. Once my son is safe, you worry about me, understand?”
Merrick put her hands on Cain’s cheeks and gazed into her eyes for a long moment before kissing her. “I may understand, but that doesn’t mean I’ve got to like it. My place is with you.”
“For now, sweetheart, your place is where I send you. Granted, Lou isn’t as beautiful, but he’s got my back tonight.”
The big man of few words turned to the two women at the private table before he returned to observing at the crowd.
“At least there’ll be no tits to distract you,” said Merrick.
“Yes, that’s one advantage to taking Lou along tonight.”
In answer, or perhaps a curse, to what Merrick had said, two women entered the club, neither of them noticing the other, but both looking for the same person. When they spotted the object of their search in such an intimate embrace with Merrick, they had identical frowns. Anthony walked up and put one hand on Shelby’s elbow and pointed two fingers at her eyes to get her to focus on why they were there. The other woman’s eyes never left the couple as she stalked toward the table, appearing ready to mark her territory.
“Heads up, boss,” said Lou.
“Well, well, who do we have here?” asked Merrick.
“That, my dear, is what my mama would’ve called a devil in a blue dress.”
“Can I talk to you?” Emma seemed ready to drag Cain away by the hair, if that was what it took to get her to cooperate.
“Sure, I’m feeling generous tonight. Merrick, take off and call me when you get home.” Cain stood and kissed Merrick one more time before she left.
When she scanned the crowd, she noticed Emma wasn’t the only surprise guest in the building. Shelby and her shadows were making their way to the bar and keeping an eye on both her and Emma. “Lou, call me in the office when our buddy gets here, okay?”
“You got it, boss.”
For the first time in four years Cain wrapped her hand around Emma’s and pulled her toward the office. It was their first prolonged physical contact since Emma had walked out the front door of their home. She tried to ignore the pull of her heart, but like she had admitted to herself earlier, Emma would always hold a special place in that sealed vault.
From her bar stool, Shelby locked her eyes on the mirror next to the bar. If Cain didn’t know better, she would have sworn the agent could see into the quiet office where they had shared such an intense meeting not that long before. “Emma, you look like your old self tonight. What can I do for you?”
“I want you to listen to me and not interrupt until I’m done. Do you think you can do that?”
“I think I’m disciplined enough to pull it off.”
Emma looked suspicious. She wasn’t expecting Cain to be this accommodating. “Okay, I give. Why are you being so nice?”
“Because it’s the only way I can figure to get rid of you, and like I said before—
I’ve got things to do.”
“Whatever you’ve got planned tonight, Kyle knows all about it and is waiting for you.”
